Aircrafttotal Encyclopedia

Aircraft weapons

The amazing world of aircraft weapons: from the machine guns of the First World War to today's guided missiles.

36weapons
4groups
7countries

About aircraft weapons

Since the First World War, aircraft have carried weapons: first machine guns that fired through the propeller, then cannons, bombs and, from the 1950s, guided missiles. The weapons often became as famous as the aircraft that carried them.

On these pages you find the air-to-air missiles, air-to-ground missiles, aircraft guns and bombs of the Aircrafttotal Encyclopedia, with their history, the aircraft that carry them and links to more information.

Choose a group below, or use the A–Z list to go straight to a weapon.

FX Fritz X 1943 Air-to-ground missiles Fritz X German radio-guided bomb of the Second World War, one of the first precision-guided weapons. Ruhrstahl · Germany→
BB Bouncing bomb 1943 Bombs Bouncing bomb Barnes Wallis' bomb that skipped over the water, used by 617 Squadron in the Dambusters raid of 1943. Barnes Wallis (design) · United Kingdom→
V-1 Fieseler Fi 103 (V-1) 1944 V-1 Air-to-ground missiles Fieseler Fi 103 (V-1) German flying bomb of the Second World War, an early form of the cruise missile. Fieseler · Germany→
T 1944 Bombs Tallboy British "earthquake bomb" of the Second World War, designed by Barnes Wallis. Barnes Wallis (design) · United Kingdom→
AIM-9L AIM-9L Air-to-air missiles AIM-9L Sidewinder One of the most widely used air-to-air missiles in the world, with an infrared seeker that homes on the heat of the target. Raytheon · United States→
AIM-9X AIM-9X Sidewinder AIM-9X Air-to-air missiles AIM-9X Sidewinder The latest version of the Sidewinder, with a modern imaging infrared seeker and thrust vectoring. Raytheon · United States→
AIM-132 AIM-132 ASRAAM AIM-132 Air-to-air missiles AIM-132 ASRAAM British short-range air-to-air missile, carried by the Royal Air Force. MBDA · United Kingdom→
AIM-7 AIM-7 Sparrow AIM-7 Air-to-air missiles AIM-7 Sparrow Radar-guided medium-range missile that served for decades on American and allied fighters. Raytheon · United States→
AIM-120 AIM-120 AMRAAM AIM-120 Air-to-air missiles AIM-120 AMRAAM The Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile, the standard beyond-visual-range missile of NATO air forces. Raytheon · United States→
AIM-54 AIM-54 Phoenix AIM-54 Air-to-air missiles AIM-54 Phoenix Long-range missile built for the F-14 Tomcat to defend US Navy carrier groups. Hughes Aircraft / Raytheon · United States→
AIM-260 AIM-260 Air-to-air missiles AIM-260 JATM The Joint Advanced Tactical Missile, developed as the successor of the AMRAAM. Lockheed Martin · United States→
MM Air-to-air missiles MBDA Meteor European long-range air-to-air missile with a ramjet engine. MBDA · Europe→
AGM-86 AGM-86 Air-to-ground missiles Boeing AGM-86 ALCM Air-launched cruise missile carried by the B-52 Stratofortress. Boeing · United States→
AGM-84 AGM-84 Air-to-ground missiles McDonnell AGM-84 Harpoon All-weather anti-ship missile, also launched from ships and submarines. McDonnell Douglas / Boeing · United States→
BGM-109 BGM-109 Air-to-ground missiles Raytheon Tomahawk Long-range cruise missile, mainly launched from ships and submarines; an air-launched version (AGM-109) was tested. Raytheon · United States→
AGM-88 AGM-88 HARM AGM-88 Air-to-ground missiles AGM-88 HARM High-speed missile that homes on the radar signals of air-defence systems. Texas Instruments / Raytheon · United States→
AGM-65 AGM-65 Maverick AGM-65 Air-to-ground missiles AGM-65 Maverick Air-to-ground missile for close air support, one of the most widely used of its kind. Hughes Aircraft / Raytheon · United States→
AGM-114 AGM-114 Hellfire AGM-114 Air-to-ground missiles AGM-114 Hellfire Missile developed for attack helicopters, later also used on drones. Lockheed Martin · United States→
AGM-154 AGM-154 Air-to-ground missiles AGM-154 JSOW Glide weapon that can be released far away from its target. Raytheon · United States→
LG Aircraft guns Lewis Gun Light machine gun with a round drum magazine, widely used on aircraft in the First World War. Birmingham Small Arms · United Kingdom→
SM Aircraft guns Spandau MG 08 German machine gun of the First World War; aircraft versions fired through the propeller. Germany→
VK Aircraft guns Vickers K machine gun British rapid-firing machine gun used by aircraft gunners early in the Second World War. Vickers · United Kingdom→
M1 Aircraft guns MG 131 German heavy machine gun used in aircraft during the Second World War. Rheinmetall-Borsig · Germany→
HH Aircraft guns Hispano-Suiza HS.404 Widely used 20 mm cannon of the Second World War, built in France, the United Kingdom and the United States. Hispano-Suiza · France→
B4 Aircraft guns Bofors 40 mm L/60 Swedish 40 mm automatic gun, famous as an anti-aircraft gun and also carried by gunships. Bofors · Sweden→
A3 Aircraft guns ADEN 30 mm cannon British 30 mm revolver cannon used on many jet fighters. Royal Small Arms Factory · United Kingdom→
NN Aircraft guns Nudelman-Rikhter NR-23 Soviet 23 mm aircraft cannon of the early jet age. Nudelman-Rikhter · Soviet Union→
MV Aircraft guns M61 Vulcan Six-barrel 20 mm rotary cannon in the style of a Gatling gun, the standard gun of American fighters. General Electric · United States→
GA GAU-8 Avenger Aircraft guns GAU-8 Avenger The huge 30 mm rotary cannon around which the A-10 Thunderbolt II was built. General Electric · United States→
MB Aircraft guns Mauser BK-27 German 27 mm revolver cannon used on European fighters. Mauser · Germany→
MC Aircraft guns M230 chain gun 30 mm chain gun under the nose of the AH-64 Apache. Hughes Helicopters · United States→
Mk 82 Mark 80 series (Mk 82/83/84) Mk 82 Bombs Mark 80 series (Mk 82/83/84) The family of American general-purpose bombs, also the basis for many guided bombs. United States→
P Bombs Paveway Family of laser-guided bomb kits that turn ordinary bombs into precision weapons. Texas Instruments / Raytheon · United States→
J JDAM Bombs JDAM Guidance kit with GPS that turns unguided bombs into all-weather precision weapons. Boeing · United States→
GBU-43/B GBU-43/B MOAB GBU-43/B Bombs GBU-43/B MOAB One of the largest non-nuclear bombs ever built, dropped from the back of a C-130. United States→